


Wisteria Waltz

by doridoripawaa



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Dancing, Edeleth, F/F, Flowers, Language of Flowers, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27225859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doridoripawaa/pseuds/doridoripawaa
Summary: Byleth is determined to help Edelgard relax after a long day of dealing with people as Emperor. Crimson Flower spoilers!
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	Wisteria Waltz

Some people truly did not understand the consequences of angering the Emperor.

Edelgard waved courteously in farewell to her visitor, and as soon as the double doors to the throne room closed behind him, she slumped down in her seat and sighed.

“Lady Edelgard,” a familiar, low voice rumbled from behind her. “Should we postpone your appointment tomorrow with the leader of the Enbarr marketplace union?”

Edelgard swallowed a frustrated groan and straightened up. It was unbecoming of the Emperor to slouch, after all. “No, I still have time to recover tonight.” Her gaze flickered to the stained glass windows, but as soon as she saw the deep orange and red light filtering through, she felt her lips purse into a frown. She had expected a little more time to be able to recover after her day full of conferences, councils, and other countless connections that she was required to maintain as Emperor of Adrestia--and all of Fodlan--but the evening had snuck up on her, and now her hopes of relaxation and respite were all but nought.

As tense and exhausted as she was, however, Edelgard felt as though her dark-haired companion were even more uptight than she was. “I could ask Prime Minister Ferdinand to--”

“That’s enough, Hubert.” Her tone left no room for discussion or debate. The white-haired young woman rose to her feet and turned to face her trusted advisor. “This is part of the job of being Emperor,” she reminded him gently. “Therefore, it is my burden to bear.”

Hubert dipped his head respectfully, but when he lifted his chin again, he murmured quietly, “I am always here to shoulder your sins if you need, Your Majesty.”

Edelgard chuckled softly and reached up to place a firm, reassuring hand on Hubert’s shoulder. “There is no need,” she told him, with a voice full of kindness and compassion but also determination. “Fodlan has been relatively peaceful ever since the war ended, after all.” Small territorial squabbles still erupted every now and then, and she would occasionally need to send troops to respond to reports of rogues who ransacked villages, but compared to the ordeal that Fodlan had just endured, these were but minor skirmishes, simply little bumps in the road on her path to true peace.

When the time came for her to finally face off with Those Who Slither in the Dark, she would accept any and all assistance that Hubert may offer up. For these trivial matters, however, she was willing and able to handle herself.

A soft creak sounded behind her, and a jolt rushed down the Emperor’s spine. She was not expecting any more visitors today; who would dare enter the throne room at this hour? Edelgard took a deep breath and spun on her heel, ready to unleash her tongue at her unexpected guest. “If you wish to see the Emperor,” she began, but her breath caught in her throat as soon as she spotted a familiar cerulean head poking out from between the double doors.

“Do I need an appointment?” the young woman at the entrance asked, a small smirk dancing onto her lips.

“B-B-Byleth!” Edelgard stammered, and she heard a small cough from behind her. A subtle reminder to regain her composure. “N-no, of course not,” Edelgard continued. She nodded to the doors and added, “Make sure to close those behind you, or else it will get drafty in here.”

As soon as the doors shut behind Byleth, Edelgard rushed down the stairs that led up to her throne. Much to her delight, Byleth dashed down the velvet carpet to meet her, and eagerly she jumped up and wrapped her legs around her strong but small wife. “El,” Byleth whined softly. “You’ve been in meetings all day. Even I can only spend so much time alone in the training grounds,” she muttered. She ran her hands up the back of Edelgard’s neck to run her fingers through her wife’s soft, silky white hair. “Oh.”

She stopped in her tracks and adjusted her hands, moving them across Edelgard’s shoulders and deltoids, and the Emperor winced softly underneath her touch. “You’re tense,” Byleth observed, and she dropped her legs to plant her feet on the ground once again. “I can feel the knots in your muscles.” Tenderly she reached up to Edelgard’s shoulders and squeezed them, and Edelgard gasped audibly.

At once the Emperor took a step back, putting just enough distance between herself and her wife so that the latter could not touch her. Her gaze traveled sheepishly to the ground. “I am fine,” Edelgard insisted, grumbling softly as she shifted her shoulders and tried to ignore the aching in her rhomboids. “I just need a comfortable night’s sleep before tomorrow.” She cast a glance at Byleth’s face, where she could just make out the slightest protrusion of her wife’s lip; Byleth had become more and more expressive ever since the end of the war, and Edelgard had never expected the Ashen Demon’s pouts to be quite so… cute.

“How about a hot bath?” Byleth offered instead. “That would also relax your muscles.”

Edelgard shrugged, wincing slightly. “Perhaps immediately before I head to bed, but first, I have some paperwork.” Without waiting for Byleth’s response, Edelgard stalked forward and brushed past her on her way to the entrance. “I will see you tonight,” she stated simply.

Byleth continued to pout silently as the doors slammed shut behind her.

* * *

Perhaps Edelgard had been a little too cold earlier. She hated to disappoint Byleth (as much as she liked to see her wife emote in those moments), but beneath her stubborn refusals for assistance, she was burying deeper, darker feelings. Feelings of irritation, anxiety, anger, and resentment. She did not want to reveal just how much she loathed the daily business of being Emperor, the mundane meetings and dry discussions, the budget battles and plethora of paperwork.

All the more reason why Edelgard was looking forward to seeing her wife in their bedroom and getting to spend a peaceful night with her, feeling her heartbeat as they lay together.

All the more reason why Edelgard was sorely disappointed to enter an empty bedroom that night, with Byleth nowhere in sight.

"Byleth?" she called out into the eerily quiet bedroom. "My light?"

No response.

All the more reason why, exhausted as she was, Edelgard was going to search the entire Imperial palace until she found her.

* * *

Not in the kitchen.

Not in the training grounds.

Not in the bath.

Why, of all places, was Byleth outside in the garden?

The crisp evening air was refreshing against Edelgard's face, gently tickling her cheeks. As she stepped onto the cobblestone pathways that marked the beginning of the gardens, she noticed a familiar silhouette standing deeper amongst the shrubs, flowers, and topiary. Standing beneath the wisteria tree, gently bathed in the silvery glow of the stars and the moon, stood Byleth von Hresvelg.

"Are you not tired?" Edelgard inquired once she was close enough for the older woman to hear. Walking down the stone pathway felt like walking down the aisle on her wedding day, where the light of her life, the wind beneath her wings, stood ethereal and beautiful in a white light.

And Byleth's small smile was still as breathtaking now as it had been on their wedding day. "El," she murmured. "Are  _ you  _ not tired?" she countered. "You had a long day."

Edelgard lifted her chin and puffed out her chest indignantly. "Nothing that the Emperor cannot handle," she assured her. Maybe she was trying to reassure herself. "Although, I must admit," she went on, lowering her voice to hardly a whisper, "I do think that being outdoors is helping me relax a little."

That simple declaration made Byleth beam. "You're finally relaxing," she murmured. She reached forward and tenderly brushed a loose strand of white hair behind her wife's ear. "That's all I wanted."

Edelgard raised an eyebrow, and she lifted her hand to cup Byleth's hand before the latter could pull away. "Is that why you're out here?" she guessed. "Were you trying to lure me into your trap?"

Byleth's expression turned from one of delight into a cheeky grin. "I knew you'd come looking for me," was all she said.

The Emperor merely sighed and shook her head. "I fell for your trap," she conceded. "I expect nothing less of my brilliant teacher."

Suddenly Byleth turned her hand around and grasped Edelgard’s. She tugged, pulling the younger woman in close until their chests were pressed against each other and their noses were brushing. "My love," Byleth whispered, her breath warm and passionate against Edelgard's lips, "my trap has only just begun."

One hand on her shoulder. One hand around her waist. One step, two steps. Forward, backward. Side to side. 

Beneath the moonlight, starshine, and wisteria blossoms, Byleth began to lead Edelgard in a dance. Much to her satisfaction, Edelgard obliged, following her steps without any objection.

"Your muscles were tense," Byleth reminded her as she swayed. "I know how much you like to dance, but we have not danced since our wedding night." A soft sheen of red spread across her ashen cheeks. "I have… been practicing," she admitted.

Edelgard almost believed her until she stomped firmly on the Emperor's toe. "Sorry!" Byleth gasped, but she did not relinquish her grip. "You can scold Ferdinand for that," she muttered. "He was my instructor."

Edelgard chuckled softly as Byleth continued to lead her around the cobblestones, allowing herself to surrender her will and her body to her wife. She trusted Byleth whole-heartedly, and she knew that even as poor of a dancer as she was, the blue-haired woman would never lead her astray.

They were equals on this path, after all, and for once, Edelgard did not mind that she was not the one in charge.

"My light," Edelgard murmured softly. "If you wanted dancing lessons, you could have just asked me."

Byleth narrowed her eyes as though she were deep in thought. "Are you… teasing me?" she guessed. "I know how busy you are."

Edelgard shook her head, sending a couple of locks of hair free from her double buns. "I will always make time for you," she breathed. "You are…" What words could she use to sum up what Byleth meant to her? Her guide, her companion, her ally, her partner, her love. "One-of-a-kind. My irreplaceable Byleth."

After a lifetime of being treated as an empty husk, a mere vessel, a shell of a human, Edelgard imagined that those were the words Byleth most needed to hear.

Judging from the smile that spread across her wife's lips, Edelgard had uttered exactly the right words.

"Besides," she went on, not wanting to linger on the sappy sentimental moment before it became too saccharine to bear, "You wouldn't be the first person I taught how to dance."

Byleth perked up with curiosity. "Oh? When did you have time to be a dance instructor at Garreg Mach? Were my lessons that easy?"

Edelgard laughed and shook her head. "No, this was many years before I enrolled at the Officer's Academy." Her lavender eyes began to swim with emotion as she recalled the details of her former student. "When I was a child, I had a friend," she murmured. "He was timid as a mouse but had the heart of a lion. He was bright with a blade but struggled with steps. He was…" Her gaze fell to the ground, and she only barely managed to choke out the last words. "He was an awful student but a remarkable friend."

Byleth's steps came to an abrupt halt, and Edelgard nearly stumbled and fell at the sudden change in pace. "Wh-?"

At once, Byleth pulled her wife in tightly to her body and wrapped her arms around her. "I am here," she whispered into her wife’s ear. "When it's just me and you, you can cry, El."

Edelgard squirmed free of Byleth's hug and took a step back. "The Edelgard who shed tears died long ago," she reminded her coolly. "Besides…" A coy smile played onto her lips. "Do you know what wisteria symbolizes?" she asked suddenly, pointing up at the purple blossoms that fell in long tendrils around them. "Bernadetta once told me."

Byleth shook her head, and so Edelgard continued. "Wisteria stands for long life and immortality." She reached forward and plucked a bloom from one of the snaking tendrils. "I know he lives on among the stars, but more importantly…" She stepped forward and gently placed the flower behind Byleth's ear. "I know that I have you, and your love, forever."

Silence. A gentle breeze danced around the two of them as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. Two looks that said more than any words ever could.

"Come now," Byleth murmured. "We have a dance to finish."

For the first time in months, Edelgard allowed herself to relax in the safety of her wife's sturdy, swinging arms.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the commission! <3 I love soft wives very much.


End file.
